twenty-four
IN THE PAST few days, Edith had spent more time with her father than in the past years, and each encounter had been charged with tension.
Yet the next conversation with him couldn’t be avoided. She shivered when she knocked on the door to his study.
“Come in.” His deep voice rumbled.
There had been a time when his voice had soothed her anxiety. She inched the door open. “Father, may I have a word?”
Mistrust tightened his features. “What happened?”
Well, she wasn’t surprised by the welcome. “I need to talk to you.”
“Let me guess, you changed your mind about your studies.”
“No.” She returned the harsh stare. “Honestly, you could stop being so aggressive. I don’t deny I made mistakes, but I’m serious about wanting to become a doctor, and I’d appreciate it if you showed some respect for my decisions.”
Was it her imagination, or did he give her a nod of approval? “Fair enough. What is it?”
“It’s about Dr. York.”
“Lord Ravenscroft’s personal physician? What about him?”
She ran her palms over her skirt. “There was a misunderstanding, and his medical licence has been challenged and might be revoked, and he needs help now to get it back.”
“Having a licence revoked is a serious business.” He leant back. “What did he do?”
Both Perry and Dr. York were ready to sacrifice themselves for her. She had to return the favour and swallow her pride. “I made a mistake…”
He steepled his fingers together on the desk and gave her a ‘No, you? Really?’ gaze.
“To help me get out of a legal situation, Dr. York falsely declared to have drugged me. As a consequence, he will be forced to go before a judge, and the medical board. But, in truth, he didn’t do anything. He invented a story and took the blame only to save me. If he hadn’t helped me, I might have ended up in in court and possibly sued for breach of contract.”
There. She hoped her father wouldn’t ask for further details because she didn’t want to talk about her stupid bet with Neville.
“Good Lord, Edith.” He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “When is this endless string of troubles going to end?”
“I’m trying to make the situation better, Father, but Dr. York needs help. Can you intercede for him with the Royal Medical Council? He’s a brilliant physician who worked very hard to obtain his degree, and he’s specialising on alienism. He doesn’t deserve to have his licence revoked.”
“What did you do exactly?”
“Father…”
“I want the truth.” He tapped the desk with a finger. “If you want me to vouch for Dr. York, I must know what happened.”
She took a deep breath. Her throat burned with emotion. As she told him about the Scarlet Room, the awful contract, and Dr. York’s sacrifice, she skipped the part of Neville’s request. Still, the whole affair sounded horrible.
A long sigh came out of her father. “Do you realise now how your actions have ramifications and touch other people’s lives?”
She gave a curt nod, not trusting her voice.
“You do something without thinking, and good people get hurt. This isn’t reasonable conduct for a physician.”
“I know.”
“What were you—” He slouched back in the chair. “Never mind.” He remained silent for a long time.
Edith stood there, waiting, on the verge of running out of the room.
